Random thoughts; Riding across a midwestern state; etc

(Ladies and Gentlemen, 24 hours from now I will vanish into the midwest, where I will ride across an entire state accompanied by about 20,000 other cyclists.

In valley-speak, I am going nomail and nophone. (If you need to tell me something, now would be the time.)

Other:

Human beings need cyber-implants. No, we don't need stronger arms or legs or cyber-eyes. We need information implants:

Subject is ___% committed to memory
Calories eaten today _____ Calories burned today ______
Grams of fat_____ protein_____ carbohydrate_____ eaten today

And a red alert system: Your next important birthday to remember is in _____ days

today's entertainment:

8 AM dentist, to replace cracked veneer again
2 PM PT skills final practical
3 PM orthopedics practical
5:30 PM Physiology exam

7 PM: End of hyperfocus mode! I will have my traditional end-of-finals half a beer, because yes, I would get roaring drunk on an entire beer. (That approach lacks a certain je ne sais quoi.) Who wants the other half of the beer? ;-)

Well, that was not a desireable result!

The end of the story:

B+ in Orthopedics (I got an 85% on the test when all was said and done).

B+ (most likely) in PT Skills 3-- I did very badly on the practical. I was very, very nervous; I studied like crazy and knew all the facts cold, but forgot them when I walked in the door, it seems. Hmm.

B- in Physiology. (I did not have nearly as much study time as I wanted to have. I let myself get talked into taking the final early and leaving so I could go on the ride, didn't allocate enough study time, and did pretty badly on the test as a result.

Result: My GPA for the module is 3.1, after all that hard work. Uh... That was the hardest module, and I'm glad I survived, but that contains room for improvement!

Lessons learned:

- The spreadsheet and planning really helped me out.
- Whatever is up with me and practicals, I need to fix it.
- Grades matter to me. It's no use pretending that they don't.
- Never cut a finals week short. Time is precious at the end of the module.
- Students who aced the earlier tests were able to worry much less about the finals. In future, I will do that, rather than relying on the final to help me recover from a bad midterm grade.

Last, I will watch the experienced students and do what they do.